


The Phoenix

by fhsa_archivist



Category: Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter - Laurell K. Hamilton, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: Alternate Universe, Drabble
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-07-19
Updated: 2004-07-19
Packaged: 2019-02-05 16:01:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 22,882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12797802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fhsa_archivist/pseuds/fhsa_archivist
Summary: none





	1. part 1

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Haven, the archivist: This story was originally archived at [Fandom Haven Story Archive (FHSA)](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Fandom_Haven_Story_Archive), was scheduled to shut down at the end of 2016. To preserve the archive, I began working with the OTW to transfer the stories to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in November 2017. If you are this creator and the work hasn't transferred to your AO3 account, please contact me using the e-mail address on [Fandom Haven Story Archive collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/fhsa/profile).

All was quiet in the sleepy California town. The night was still and unusually serene until a scream broke the silence. Sitting up in bed, Willow tried to calm her racing heart. It always took a minute to realize the visions weren't actually happening to her. Tonight's vision had been particularly vivid. They usually were when she tried to block them out. 

 

For the third time that week she had visions of women being burned to death. They all had a symbol etched on their arm, but she didn't know what the symbols meant. She had asked for help from Giles and Wesley in detecting what the symbols were and what they might mean. As always, she was thankful that she had stayed in contact with her friends back in Sunnydale and LA since moving to Eureka. They had helped her more than once when she had come upon a brick wall in her work with her visions. They had researched everything they could find but no luck in tracing the symbol. She had ignored the visions for as long as she could, but now that wasn't an option. She had recently finished a kidnapping case that had ended tragically and she had needed a rest. She needed time off to nourish her psyche and her soul but it seemed the Powers had other ideas. 

The visions kept triggering her fears of burning to death. Ever since her mother and the other members of MOO tried to burn her, Buffy and Amy at the stake 6 years ago she had a fear of a fiery death. On the upside, she no longer had frog fear. Willow wanted to help in the solving of these women's deaths but she had no idea when or where they were taking place. Willow knew it was no use trying to get back to sleep, so she decided to do more research. 

 

Turning on her computer, she started her program that would allow her access to the National Crime Database. As she had the two previous occasions, she did a search on suspicious deaths, fire and tattoos. Usually these searches came up empty but she was determined to find these women or their killer. While the computer was doing its job Willow wandered into the kitchen to make tea. 

 

While relaxing on the couch waiting for the computer to hopefully spit out some useful data, Willow tried to capture the scenes from her visions. Some days she felt cursed and other days she felt blessed to have been given this gift of visions. This morning she felt cursed and really hated Dru for attacking the library and putting her in a coma her Junior year in high school. Maybe she would look into seeing if there was a clause like Angel's curse had so she would no longer have these visions. 

 

Deciding enough time had past; she went to her laptop to check it for hits. Willow clicked on the results hoping that this time there would be an answer for her. The first hit was from Seattle where an elderly lady with a tattoo on her leg had been murdered and then the house set on fire. The second hit was from St. Louis where a woman in her late twenties to early thirties had died from smoke inhalation but what had caught Willow's eye was that she had rope burns on her ankles and wrists. Deciding that this needed looking into, she hacked into the SLPD files to read the report herself. 

 

The report stated that the victim had a symbol carved into her arm. From the description of the symbol, it was like the ones Willow had seen on the other women. While she printed out the report to read later, she thought about the previous night's dream. Unfortunately, Willow's recent dreams were from the perspective of the killer so unless they stood in front of a mirror she wouldn't know what they looked like. These visions were the first from that point of view; usually she is the victim in the dreams. The Powers must have known how traumatic it would be for her to feel herself burn to death every night. So instead of that horror, she got to witness innocents being burned to death every night. Yep, she was definitely looking into an Angel like clause for this curse when this was over. 

 

Reading the report was like reliving the first night's vision. The victim was described exactly like the woman in her first dream. She had shoulder length black hair, brown eyes, a mole by her mouth and the symbol carved on her arm was exactly like the one Willow had seen. In Willow's dream the victims didn't put up much of a struggle after being tied to the piece of wood. Since the report didn't have the results back from the toxicology lab, she didn't know if the victim had been drugged. She didn't see any evidence of drug use in her visions, but the killer could have drugged them before Willow's vision kicks in. Of course, growing up on the Hellmouth, Willow didn't rule out supernatural reasons for not struggling. She would have to ask her friends about ways to subdue or mind control victims without drug use. 

 

The ringing of the phone startled Willow. "'lo?" 

 

"Willow, what's wrong?" 

 

"Oh Angel, I'm sorry. I should have called you earlier. I'm ok, just another vision." Willow felt guilty. Ever since she helped Jenny's cousin from the Calederash tribe give Angel his soul back and anchor it they shared a connection. Whenever either had strong emotions the other felt it through the bond. Angel must have felt her fear. She usually blocked it so he wouldn't worry when she was working on a case. But, she thought she had taken time off from any new cases so she didn't have the block in place. 

 

"Anything I can do to help?" 

 

"No, as usual it's human evil not supernatural. Wait, do you know of any supernatural way besides magic to subdue victims and make them do your bidding?" 

 

"Well, there are vampire clans that can make humans do what they want just by looking deeply into their eyes. It is called enthralled." 

 

"What, you mean like... look into my eyes? Angel, that's a bad B movie line." 

 

"Willow, with all the time you spent with Buffy you don't know there is always a kernel of truth to myths, legends and bad B movies?" Angel teased. 

 

Willow stuck out her tongue. She knew that Angel couldn't see it but she felt better anyway. "Yeah, yeah. Do you know any vampires in these clans?" 

 

"Well, I know a few personally and I can ask the Vampire Council for more if you want." 

 

"I would rather keep this low key since I don't know if it has preternatural connections or not yet. Would any of the ones that you know personally be willing to talk to me about this?" 

 

"What exactly are you looking for?" With that Willow told him about her visions and what was in the police report. 

 

"Well I'm sure that Jean-Claude would talk to you. He is the Master of the city in St. Louis and he is in one of the clans that have the ability to enthrall. Let me call him and see if he would be willing to talk to you." 

 

"Great, call me on my cell 'cause I'm going to catch a flight to St. Louis anyway. Now that I know where the murders are taking place I can be more of a help there." 

 

As soon as Willow hung up with Angel, she called Giles to let him know the latest and where she was headed. Like any protective parent, even though they know you have grown and can take care of yourself they are still concerned for your welfare. So she checked in with him when working a case. Though not officially working this case since no PD has asked for her help, Willow knew the Powers sent her these visions for a reason. 

 

The earliest that Willow could get a ticket to St. Louis was the red eye which meant she wouldn't get in until very early morning and definitely wouldn't be able to talk to Jean-Claude until later. Oh well, that would give her time to study the area and read any other information that might have come up. 

 

Later she hacked back into the SLPD computer system and checked to see if there had been any information regarding the toxicology report. Willow blessed the speed of computers now and the ease with which cops and lab technicians filed reports. Reports were filed from the crime scenes or the lab straight into the computer. All soft copy with no need for typing and then input by clerks. Reading the report from the lab, it was stated that no drugs were found in the body. Also no herbs were found in the body that could also be used to subdue the victim. So, Willow thought, that meant probably something of a supernatural means was used. Backing out of the lab report, Willow went to the crime report to see if more had been input. Luckily, the cop in charge kept a journal electronically and Willow stumbled across it in her search. It seemed that Lt. Combass thought it suspicious enough to alert the Regional Preternatural Investigation Team, otherwise known as RPIT(rip-it). 

 

Well that was an interesting twist Willow thought. She would have to think about that and how to contact her friend Tammy Reynolds, a Detective with RPIT, when she got to St. Louis. Thankful that she had kept in contact with the witch when they met at the National Seminar that the FBI had given last fall. Tammy had been there with her boss Dolph Storr who was one of the speakers. After Willow's talk, Tammy had come up to her and asked a lot of questions about her visions. They had bonded over what it was like to have preternatural abilities and be in law enforcement. Of course, in Willow's case she was freelance and worked wherever she was needed.


	2. part 2

After getting settled in her hotel room, Willow thought about how to contact the St. Louis police. She would have to ask for Lt. Combass since she shouldn't have known about the details or the recommendation for RPIT. Unfortunately, she couldn't just call Tammy either. With her reputation in helping solve crimes all over the US, protocol or brown nosing as Xander called it, had to be followed. Willow hated politics but knew that it was the easiest way to get the information that was needed. There still was a lot of prejudice against people with preternatural abilities even after all the rights won by vampires, witches and lycanthropes and brown nosing helped. 

 

The murder had made the St. Louis paper, being named the 'Witch Hunt Murder'. It had been leaked that the victim was tied to a stake and the newspaper hoping to sell more papers coined the phrase. Great, Willow thought, now I'll have to try to talk to the police amid all this sensationalism. 

 

In the early afternoon, Willow entered the Department Headquarters and approached the front desk. 

 

"Hi, May I speak to whoever is in charge of the 'Witch Hunt Murder'?" 

 

The front desk clerk rolled his eyes thinking it was another crackpot 'trying to help' with the latest case. But thankfully that wasn't his problem and directed the pretty redhead to Lt. Combass' office. 

 

Asking Willow to wait just outside in the squad room, the clerk made his way to the Lieutenant's office. Knocking on the door, he waited for permission to enter. 

 

"Come in." 

 

"Hey Lieutenant, another crackpot is here to see you about the burning victim." 

 

"Shit, why me? Alright send them in." Hopefully her recommendation that this case be sent to RPIT would be approved and she wouldn't have to deal with any more crackpots. 

 

"At least this one's pretty." The clerk said with a smirk and left the office and returned with Willow. 

 

"I'm Lt. Combass, please have a seat. I understand that you have information pertaining to one of my cases." 

 

"Well, not exactly... I'm Willow Rosenberg." Not sure if she had heard of her or not. With the blank stare that was returned, Willow guessed not. Crap, now she would really have to throw the BS around. 

 

"I've worked with several Law Enforcement Agencies all over the US helping to solve crimes that are unusual. I recently became aware of this case and thought I could help." Not knowing if she held prejudices against witches, Willow didn't want to reveal yet how she helped. 

 

"And how is it that you have heard about this case?" 

 

Time to show that she carried some clout, "With my access to the National Crime Database, this case showed up in one of my searches." 

 

The Lieutenant's expression went from bored indifference to thoughtful interest with that statement. "What was it in your searches that peaked your interest in this case?" 

 

Willow had to tread carefully here. Couldn't give away too much. "I have been searching for cases that involve fire and tattoos. I have seen some victims before this case that involved an unusual tattoo." No need to say they were in dreams just yet. 

 

Lt. Combass had a thoughtful expression on her face and steepled her fingers under her chin. "Before I say anything about this case, I would like to check with people that you have worked with before. If you don't mind that is." 

 

The Lieutenant's face wore a version of Willow's 'Resolve face'. Willow knew no one should mess with her Resolve Face and figured the same went for the Lieutenant. "Sure." 

 

Willow gave her names from various agencies around the US and decided not to throw in the name of an agent with the FBI. Knowing that sometimes the FBI stepped on the ego of local cops and she didn't want to throw weight around... yet. 

 

Willow waited out in the squad room while the Lieutenant made the calls. She sat quietly sipping coffee hoping to overhear anything that might have to do with the victim. 

 

Willow's purse began to ring. Crap, she had forgotten to turn off her cell phone. "Hello?" 

 

"Willow, hey it's Angel. I was able to get in touch with Jean-Claude and he is willing to talk to you about The Enthralled. I didn't want to give him your cell number without talking to you first. You can either call him or I can give him your number." 

 

"Hang on, let me get a pen and I'll call him later on tonight." Willow wrote down the number where he could be reached. "Is there a particular time that I should give him a call?" 

 

"Try a few hours after sunset. I didn't go into details why you wanted the information, but he trusts me and knows I wouldn't tell just anyone about him and his clan." 

 

"Great, thanks Angel. Oops, someone wants to talk to me so I gotta go." Willow hung up and turned off her phone. She returned to the Lieutenant's office when she was motioned back in. 

 

"Well, you have a huge fan club. It seems that everyone I talked to spoke very highly of your skills. Of course they wouldn't mention what those skills were..." She trailed off hoping Willow would supply the answer. 

 

Willow just looked at her waiting for her to continue. 

 

With a sigh the Lieutenant continued, "The tattoo that you are interested in is a symbol about two inches high and an inch wide. It appears to be some sort of serpent wrapped around something long and thin. At first we thought it was the medical cartouche but upon closer inspection we realized that it wasn't." 

 

Willow just nodded her head, she knew this already of course because of the report but she didn't want her to know that she knew. Cripes now she was rambling in her thoughts. She hadn't rambled in a long time, must be the stress. 

Grabbing a pencil off the desk and a piece of paper, Willow drew the symbol. "Is this it?" 

 

After looking at the drawing Lt. Combass' eyes bored into Willow. "Where else did you see this? I don't think you said." 

 

Willow knew the time to reveal more about herself came so she told about her dreams, watching the expression of the Lieutenant for signs of prejudice or disbelief. Seeing neither Willow concluded her description of what she had seen. 

"So you help other Law Enforcement agencies with your visions." 

 

"Yeah, when I can. Sometimes I get readings after I hold something personal from the victim, other times the Powers just send me a vision when innocents need saving, like now." 

 

There was a knock on the door interrupting Willow and Lt. Combass told them to enter. A clerk came in with a piece of paper. 

 

After reading it the Lieutenant said, "Well it seems that my recommendation has been approved. This case has been reassigned to the Regional Preternatural Investigation Team." 

 

Inside Willow was doing a happy dance. YES, she now had an excuse to go to Tammy and speak freely. 

 

"I'll walk you to Detective Storr's office. He is the head of RPIT." 

 

Willow followed behind Lt. Combass trying to remember what she could about Dolph Storr. She hadn't really paid a lot of attention to him, she had hung around Tammy more. She remembered him being about a foot taller than her and having dark hair. She tried to think what he talked about in the seminar but that was pretty much blank.


	3. part 3

Willow entered the offices of RPIT. It looked like any other squad room that she had been in, organized chaos. She looked around the room but didn't notice Tammy. But she idly saw some penguins on a desk that said Zerbrowski. Someone must like penguins she thought. 

 

Lt. Combass walked to a separate room and knocked on the doorframe and entered. "I hear you got my case involving the burning victim." 

 

Dolph rolled his eyes, "Yeah, the 'Witch Hunt Murder'. You'd think the newspapers had better things to do than play this up. What can I do for you, I've only had a couple hours to review it." 

 

"I have someone with me that might be able to help you." With that, the Lieutenant moved aside so Dolph could see Willow. 

 

Willow held out her hand, "Hi, I'm..." 

 

"Willow Rosenberg", Dolph interrupted. "We met at the FBI's National Seminar last fall." Well that was of the good, she hadn't thought he would remember her. 

"Well, since you know her I'll just get back to my office." 

 

When they were alone Dolph said, "So, what kind of visions have you been having about this crime?" He may hate the monsters both human and not, but he didn't have anything against this witch, he even respected her intelligence. 

 

It was a relief that she didn't have to guard her words anymore. Willow told Dolph all that she had seen in her dreams. She described the victims from her other two visions that hadn't shown up yet in any crime reports, at least she hoped they hadn't. She hadn't had time to check the database today. She had taken it as a good sign that she didn't have any visions last night. After she had finished talking she asked, "What was it about this case that made Lt. Combass recommend it to RPIT?" 

 

"I think the fact that the toxicology report came up negative and there hadn't been any signs of struggle in the victim later. Tammy is at the scene now, checking it out for any signs that magic was used." 

 

Willow was happy that Tammy had been assigned to the case. She was looking forward to working with her officially. That is if Dolph wanted her help. If not, she would help Tammy unofficially. 

 

Dolph must have read her mind, "I would appreciate any help you can give on this case. I won't mention to the media that you are helping so hopefully the vultures won't circle around you. The fact that you and Tammy stayed in contact after the seminar gives you the excuse that you are just visiting a friend." 

 

"If Tammy doesn't find any traces of magic do you know what might have caused the victim not to struggle? Do you have any idea what the symbol is? I have had friends helping me but we aren't having any luck locating the meaning." 

 

"I've only had the case a couple of hours but so far no one seems to know what that symbol means. We are guessing it has a religious meaning but we aren't sure. If magic isn't at the site, there aren't a lot of options. I was thinking of using a Necromancer to raise the victim and ask her some questions." 

 

"That can be done? Even when you don't know their name, you don't do you?" 

 

"No, she's still Jane Doe. A powerful Necromancer can raise the dead without a name. I use Anita Blake for cases like that." 

 

Willow was surprised. She had heard of Anita, who hadn't in the preternatural community, but she didn't think she would ever get the chance to meet her. Willow didn't want to tell Dolph about her possible meeting with Jean-Claude yet. It might not be necessary and Jean-Claude was doing her a huge favor by talking to her. 

 

Willow thanked Dolph and told him that she would call Tammy later. She left the building and went back to the hotel to make some calls and do some work on her laptop. 

 

While the laptop searched for more cases of murder, Willow called Giles. She hoped the database didn't come up with another murder. She knew more might happen because of the visions; she was just hoping they would be able to catch the killer before he killed again. 

 

She filled Giles in on what she knew from Dolph and Lt. Combass. "Any luck with that symbol yet?" 

 

"No, I'm afraid not. Wesley is checking in with other members of the Watcher's council and I've asked Anya if she has come across it. I haven't heard back from Anya. Hopefully she'll have something for us." 

 

"Giles, Dolph is thinking about using Anita Blake to reanimate the victim and ask questions. I might be able to see Anita's work up close and personal." 

Willow was like a kid she was so excited. 

 

Giles understood her excitement. He would have liked to witness that as well. "That would be a wonderful opportunity to witness such a thing. I have heard a lot about Ms. Blake of course and the opportunity to see her at work, to...to witness such an experience would be extraordinary." Giles was in excited Watcher mode. 

 

After talking a bit more and finding out how all her friends were, she hung up. Time to check the laptop. With trepidation, she looked at the hits that the search had kicked out. Five murders around the US fitting the search criteria but not what Willow was looking for thankfully. 

 

She tried to call Tammy but she hadn't returned yet so she left a message to call her. She checked her watch and saw that she could call Jean-Claude now. Digging into her purse for the number that Angel had given her, she called. 

"Hello" 

 

"May I speak with Jean-Claude?" 

 

Silence. "Who may I say is calling?" 

 

"This is Willow Rosenberg, he's expecting my call." 

 

"Just a minute and I'll see if he is in." 

 

Willow was put on hold. Thinking about how to approach him, she almost missed the click of the phone. 

 

"Chere, this is Jean-Claude. Angel said that you would call." 

 

Man, did he have a sexy voice, she would have looked into HIS eyes. "Thanks for being willing to talk to me. I have some questions that I hope you can help me with." 

 

"Angel recommended you highly and to be honest I asked around before agreeing to talk with you. You have a good reputation among witches and lycanthropes." 

 

Willow blushed and was glad Jean-Claude couldn't see her. She had hoped to outgrow the whole blushing thing. "Thanks. When would be a good time to talk?" 

 

"Can you meet me in a couple of hours? There is a club called 'Guilty Pleasures' we could meet there." 

 

Well that sounded interesting. "Sure, I'll see you then." Willow took directions on how to get there and hung up. Guilty Pleasures, what kind of place was that? 

Willow was getting ready to grab something to eat when the phone rang. Hoping that it was Tammy she answered. "'lo?" 

 

"Hey, Red" 

 

Willow smiled. "Hey Tammy. I hear you were working that wicked mojo of yours." 

 

Tammy snorted. "Yeah, I heard I had a FRIEND who was going to help with the case." 

 

It was Willow's turn to snort. "Well, you know. When the wicked mojo won't work they call in the all knowing all seeing." Tammy and Willow both laughed. 

 

"No really, what's up?" 

 

Willow told Tammy all that she knew even about her meeting with Jean-Claude tonight. 

 

"I would love to be a fly on the wall for that meeting." 

 

"Why, is there something about him that I should know about?" 

 

"Him, no. I just wanted to see your face when you get your first look at Guilty Pleasures." 

 

Well that certainly peaked Willow's curiosity about the place.


	4. part 4

A strip club. Willow couldn't believe that she was meeting Jean-Claude in a strip club. She could just imagine the teasing that she would have had to endure if Xander or Buffy or pretty much anyone she knew could see her now. She had given her name at the door like Jean-Claude had instructed her to do. She was escorted through the club to what looked like a private area. Oh great, he's got a private area at a strip club. 

 

Willow's head was turning left and right and her eyes were huge. Too bad I can't just spin my head around, she thought. She just knew that her whole body was a bright shade of pink. At times like this she really cursed her pale skin and her tendency to blush. At least the club was dark. Taking a seat and giving her drink order she waited for the Master of the City to arrive. Nervous didn't cover it. Sure, she been around Angel and other vampires in her line of work but you never forgot that some, especially Masters, were dangerous. 

 

She heard a noise behind her and turned. There were two of the handsomest men she had ever seen. They were light and dark and they complemented each other. Willow wondered if they purposely calculated the effect they caused or if it was just a coincidence. She hoped her mouth wasn't hanging open. 

 

With a smile the dark one moved forward. "Willow? I'm Jean-Claude and this is Asher." 

 

As they stepped closer into the lighter area, Willow got a better look at both of them. They emanated great power but it wasn't overpowering. She could tell that they were toning their power down for her and she was grateful. 

 

She first shook Jean-Claude's hand and then turned to Asher holding out her hand. When Asher took her hand to shake, Willow was assaulted with a myriad of images. Each scene flowing into the next one. She saw -Asher, Jean-Claude and a dark haired woman laughing as they sat at a table, Asher tied up and a priest standing nearby, the same woman with dark hair tied up and fire all around. Willow came back to the present with a small gasp. Whoa, that was the first time that had ever happened. 

 

Asher seemed to draw back into himself after Willow's small gasp. She couldn't figure out why and now there was an awkward silence. Trying to cover up for her lapse she smiled, "It is nice to meet both of you." 

 

She didn't want to say anything about the vision the Powers just sent her. First, that was the first time that had ever happened and she wanted to figure out why before she said anything. Second, from the looks of the clothing in the scenes she had witnessed it had occurred in the past. She couldn't figure out what connection, if any, it had to the case she was working on. 

 

As they sat Willow said, "I don't know how much Angel told you about me or how much you heard when you checked up on me. So let me tell you a little about myself and my abilities. As you know, I am a witch. My ability is to see things through visions or dreams. I don't see world ending prophecies or anything. I usually get the vision or dream when an innocent needs saving. I help Law Enforcement Agencies all over the US solve crimes when needed." 

 

Asher leaned a little forward and said, "Are you working on a case now and what does it have to do with us?" 

 

When he leaned forward, Willow noticed that the right side of his face had scars. Great that is probably why he withdrew into himself, he thought I was gasping at his scars. Willow looked him straight in the eye, not flinching and answered, "Before coming to St. Louis I had terrifying dreams of women being burned at the stake. After searching through files I found that a death like I had seen, had recently occurred here. So I came to see if I could help. The reason I wanted to talk with Jean-Claude was the victim didn't appear to struggle after the fire had been lit. At the time I didn't have the toxicology report findings so I didn't know if she had been drugged or not. I wanted to cover all the bases of what could have caused her to not struggle. Angel was kind enough to tell me about the ability that some vampires have." 

 

Asher seemed to relax a little after Willow met his eyes without flinching but he tensed up again when she mentioned the woman being burned at the stake. He didn't think he would ever get over the memories of Julianna dying that way and his inability to help her. Her screams sometimes still haunted his dreams even after all these years. 

 

Jean-Claude had been silent while the conversations between Willow and Asher had occurred. He preferred to sit back and evaluate what she was saying and the body language she used. After watching Willow talk to Asher, he realized the gasp she had made wasn't from seeing the scars. He didn't know why she gasped but she wasn't going to reveal it either. He wouldn't try to figure out what made her gasp... yet. He stood and held out his hand to Willow, "I have a room upstairs where we can talk more privately." 

 

Willow took his hand as he helped her up. She figured she must have passed some kind of test. During the whole time she had talked with Asher he had remained silent. She had felt his eyes watching her intently and she had struggled not to fidget in her seat. 

 

When they entered the room, they each took a seat. Jean-Claude said, "Did you get the results of the toxicology report or are you still waiting?" 

 

"The report was negative on drugs or herbs controlling the victim. Traces of magic were found at the scene but not enough was used to be able to subdue the victim. So, that doesn't leave a lot of options. Enthralling is just one area that I'm exploring. What can you tell me about it?" 

 

"Asher and I were made by the vampire Belle Morte. She is the head of one of the few clans that have the ability to Enthrall. It is an ancient trait so only heads of clans that have been around a very long time have this capability, which is why it is rare among the vampire community. It is a myth that Enthralling entails looking into the eyes of a vampire. It is the vampire's voice that is mesmerizing and the one that is being mesmerized is listening more to the voice than looking into the eyes. A vampire with this skill can use their voice to get anyone of lesser power to be able to do what they want." Jean-Claude's voice took on a huskier, hypnotic quality. "This is just a very small sample of the tone of voice. It has no real power in it." 

 

Willow shivered. If that was just a small taste, what would a full-blown power usage have done? "But do they have the ability to make someone do something that goes against everything that they are? Hypnotists can make you bark like a dog but they can't make you kill an innocent if it isn't in you. Nor can they make you be a concert pianist if you didn't have the ability to begin with." 

 

Both men saw a lot of questions swirling in the red head's mind. The way her mind was examining everything before asking was exciting to watch. 

 

"A very powerful vampire could make you do something against your will." 

Deciding to be honest he continued, "It is rare but not unheard of. There have been rumors of it happening in the 1800s." 

 

That was about the time period that Willow saw in her vision when she shook Asher's hand. She would have to think about this newest bit of information and what it meant. Willow stood up to leave and thanked them both for their help. 

After Willow left Jean-Claude asked Asher, "What do you think, mon chere, about the little red?" 

 

"She is interesting. I think she will carefully investigate both natural and preternatural causes and not jump on the monster hate bandwagon, but I also think she is hiding something." 

 

On the drive back to her hotel she thought about what Tammy had said and what had happened tonight at Guilty Pleasures. Did the Powers send her that vision because Asher was the killer or linked to the killings? He was a strong vampire but was he strong enough? Or did the Powers send her that vision for another reason?


	5. part 5

Returning to her hotel Willow saw the message light blinking on her phone. She had two messages, one from Giles and the other from Dolph. She called Giles first. 

 

"Hey Giles, what's up?" 

 

"The Watcher's Council wasn't able to come up with anything about the symbol. But, I did hear back from Anya and she does recognize it. She can't remember what it is or what it means but thinks it is very ancient. Anya thinks it may have been from over 1,000 years ago. She is going to look into it more for us." 

 

"That's great news, Giles. Thanks." Willow told him all about her conversation with the two vampires. She didn't mention her latest vision, partly because she didn't want him to worry and partly because she hadn't worked it all out in her mind yet. 

 

Next, she called Dolph. "Hi, Sorry I missed your call. Any news?" 

 

"I know Tammy told you about the traces of magic that were found at the scene. Since it wasn't enough to do much and we are running into a brick wall with the symbol I have decided to have Anita reanimate the victim to see what kind of answers we can get. At the very least get her name. Anita just returned my page and we set up the ceremony for tomorrow night. I figured you would want to be there." 

 

Contradicting the excitement she felt Willow answered calmly, "That would be great. Thanks for including me." She got all the information from Dolph and agreed to have Tammy pick her up tomorrow night. 

 

Tammy picked up Willow and they headed to the cemetery. Willow was practically bouncing in the seat. Tammy smiled, "It's always exciting to watch Anita work but watching the dead rise can get boring. I've been on a few risings watching Larry work. Now I only go when I'm on a case or if it's something unusual." 

 

Willow couldn't imagine that watching the dead rise, of the non-vampire type, would get boring. But she guessed that anything got boring after awhile. She remembered that patrolling with Buffy sometimes got tedious and they would play Anywhere But Here to alleviate their boredom. 

 

"I talked to my friend Giles and he thinks he may have a lead on the origin of the symbol. At least it's a start." Willow didn't want to get Tammy's hopes up about the symbol. Anya might not be able to remember anything or be able to track down someone that might remember it. 

 

Tammy and Willow entered the cemetery. Dolph was standing off to the side and nodded his head at their arrival. Near the grave stood a small dark haired woman. Willow wondered if that was Anita, she was smaller than she thought she would be. The dark haired woman watched as they entered the cemetery but didn't acknowledge them. She began to gather her supplies for the ritual. As she neared them, Tammy noticed the curiosity in her eyes and introduced her to Willow. 

Anita went over to where she had some goats tied up. After slitting their throats and draining their blood into a pail she walked over to the grave. She began to make a circle around it with the goat's blood to keep the zombie from leaving that area. She knelt down and dipped her fingers into the pail and the remaining blood. She mixed the blood with mold, rosemary, cloves, sage and thyme. Then she began to make patterns with the blood on her cheeks and forehead. She rubbed the mixture under her shirt and over her heart. Next, using her hands she rubbed some of the remaining blood mixture over the plaque that marked the grave. Since they didn't know Jane Doe's name there wasn't a tombstone. 

 

Willow was fascinated with the ritual. Yeah, a little grossed out with the sacrifice, blood and all but still fascinated. She watched as Anita brought a knife out and cut her hand and let the blood drip on the grave. As her blood dripped she began to chant to raise the body. 

 

Willow whispered to Tammy, "I thought they only used animal blood to raise the dead." 

 

"They do, but to raise one when you don't know their name calls for a larger sacrifice. Instead of a larger animal or a human, Anita can use her blood to call it." 

 

A hand broke free of the grave and Jane Doe began to rise. After she emerged, Anita gave her some of the blood mixture so her memories would return. 

 

Yikes... watching Night of the Living Dead and seeing it in person are two different things, Willow thought. She hoped she wouldn't pass out. Anita glanced over at Willow. She figured this was her first time at a rising and wanted to see her reaction. She was surprised with how well she appeared to be handling it. She had seen some rookies throw up at their first sight of a living corpse. This one wasn't pretty either. She had died in a fire so the flesh on the lower parts of her body and near her face had burned off. 

 

Dolph approached the area where the zombie was. "Can you tell us your name?" 

 

Silence. "Cindy... Cindy Jefferson." 

 

"Cindy, can you remember how you died?" 

 

"I remember being tied. I think my hands and feet were tied. There was a fire behind me." Silence. "Yeah, the fire started behind me and then my pant leg caught on fire. I felt the fire going up my body and that is the last thing I remember until now." 

 

"What can you tell me about that night?" 

 

"I had spent the evening at Guilty Pleasures with my friends. I went to get into my car but I was hit from behind. When I woke up I couldn't see anything. I realized that I was blindfolded and I felt that my hands were tied. I tried to struggle but the more I struggled the tighter the ropes became. I heard a voice nearby and it was chanting something. It was in a language I had never heard before. After the chanting stopped I felt a burning sensation on my arm. The feeling didn't last long though. When the burning sensation went away another voice began to talk. It was very soothing. I couldn't understand what they were saying but I began to calm down and the pain was going away." 

 

"Do you remember anything about either of the voices, were they male or female or anything?" 

 

"They were both male. The second one had an accent but I can't place what kind it was." 

 

"Did they ever take your blindfold off?" 

 

"Yeah. After the second one finished talking and I was calmed they removed it. I couldn't see clearly though. Everything was blurry. I do remember the man with the soothing voice had light eyes. I only remember because he seemed to be blurry but the eyes held my attention. I can't tell you what color they were though. I couldn't make them out but they were lighter than the area around his face." 

 

Willow wondered if the killer had light eyes at all. She knew that some demons could make their eyes glow. She also wondered if a vampire using full power on the Enthrall had eyes that glowed. That would probably explain the myth of having to look into the eyes when they were using that ability. 

 

Dolph's next question interrupted Willow's thoughts. "Did you ever see what caused the burning sensation on your arm?" 

 

"As I heard the fire behind me, I tried to turn my head. I couldn't move much because of the pole that I was tied to. I saw out of the corner of my eye something on my arm. I looked down and there was this strange looking thing there. It was kind of glowing, but I couldn't tell if it was because my vision was hazy or if it really was glowing. I'm sorry, that's all I can remember." 

 

Anita spoke up for the first time, "That's alright Cindy. You remembered a lot. I think it's time for you to rest now." 

 

"No, I want to see my family." 

 

"Rest first." Anita knew that zombies were hard to get back into the ground. But, she also knew that once they contacted Cindy's family they would want to see her again. She made Cindy lie down. 

 

Anita bent down to pick up a bag of salt. She threw the salt at Cindy's chest and said, "With salt I bind you to your grave." She took the knife that she had used on the goats and herself and passed it over Cindy's lips saying, "With blood and steel I bind you to your grave Cindy. Be at peace and walk no more." 

 

With those words the earth swallowed Cindy and there was silence in the night.


	6. part 6

Willow woke up with her heart racing and her skin clammy. Damn, another vision... well actually a repeat of the second vision. With shaking limbs she got up and splashed water on her face. 

 

After watching Anita raise the first victim, Willow had prepared herself for nightmares with walking corpses. She hadn't thought to prepare herself for the visions like she usually did when on a case, since she hadn't had one in a couple of days. She wondered if this meant a second murder had taken place and they would find victim number two. 

 

Willow was just getting ready to call Tammy when her phone rang. 

 

"Willow, another victim has been found." 

 

Damn. "Did the victim have dark hair and blue eyes?" 

 

"Yes she did. We got lucky, if you can call it that. Someone at Guilty Pleasures called in a 911. They saw a woman being abducted from the parking lot and made the call. Unfortunately they weren't able to give a description. It was dark and all they could confirm was that there were two individuals and they were male." 

"How was the victim's body?" 

 

"Just like the other one. She was tied to a stake and a fire was set with no sign of struggle." 

 

After hanging up with Tammy, Willow's mind was racing. She had all sorts of questions and not many answers. There were a few common denominators. The obvious ones were the symbol, burning at the stake, females with dark hair as victims, and no struggling. Vampires? If so, why burn at the stake, why not drain them or feed off the fear? Why use the ability to enthrall? Demons? Willow hadn't heard of demons burning people at the stake. Religious sacrifice done by humans? Maybe, but for what purpose? Hopefully it wasn't for world ending purposes, she was so tired of aborting apocalypses. In high school it got to be been there, done that, bought the t-shirt. Did the women have anything in common besides being at Guilty Pleasures? What about the vision that the Powers had sent her about Asher and the woman being burned at the stake? How did that fit in? 

 

The last two questions made Willow stop and think. The other common denominator was Guilty Pleasures. Asher was obviously connected to Guilty Pleasures since he and Jean-Claude had a private area and offices upstairs. The victims were both taken from the Guilty Pleasures parking lot. Could the killers work there? Willow knew that the killers were male and that they would stand out as patrons since it was a male strip club. But, they would blend in perfectly if they worked there. Willow's mind was racing with ideas on how to use Guilty Pleasures to catch the killers. 

 

Maybe she would hang out at the bar and hope to pick up some clues. That probably wouldn't be a good idea. If she knew who specifically to look for that might have worked. But two males one with possibly glowing eyes isn't much of a description. Willow decided going undercover was a good idea. She'd done it before. OK, she had set herself up as bait when a psycho was targeting witches in the Pacific Northwest. But that was kind of undercover. Now, should she walk in, fill out an application and try to get a job? Or should she go to Jean-Claude? Tell him what had happened and what her suspicions were but editing out her concerns about Asher until she could make up her mind. Probably the second one since she had absolutely no experience waiting tables or tending bar. She didn't think her computer skills would get her a job on the floor and no way in hell would she strip if they had a men's night. Working in management was definitely out 'cause she wouldn't be able to blend with the workers and get information. If Jean-Claude let her work in the club she might also be able to look for the woman in her third vision and hopefully prevent her death. Another thing on the plus side, if she spent a lot of time at Guilty Pleasures, she might be able to see Asher more. 

 

Ever since she met him, she hadn't been able to get him out of her mind. Mostly, because of the vision but also because of him. His scars didn't diminish his looks, in fact Willow felt that they added to them. Without them he would be too pretty and perfect. He also had a deep sadness in his eyes, which added to his overall appearance. She had always been a sucker for those in trouble and in need. That was how she had started helping the innocent in her visions. 

 

Lost in her thoughts she didn't hear the sound behind her. It wasn't until she felt a hand touch her shoulder that she jumped and spun around. 

 

After her heart was no longer threatening to jump out of her chest, Willow yelled, "God Anya, next time when you teleport in could you at least make some noise?" 

 

"I did. I sent a little bell ahead of me and rang it." Anya said pointing to the bell hanging in mid-air. 

 

"Sorry, I must have been lost in thought." She said sheepishly. "Do you have news?" 

 

"Yeah... I found an old friend who recognized the symbol that you told us about. It is called a tanio gant or fire circle. It was used to mark sacrifices for the ancient god Saetha. But, he hadn't seen it in over a few Millennia. He thought that there hadn't been worshippers of Saetha for close to 2500 years. When there had been, they were very secretive. I didn't really remember it; just something about the symbol touched something in my memory and Adreyn had been around for thousands of years so I figured he might know something about it." 

 

"Did he remember anything about Saetha and what the sacrifices were for?" 

 

"Not much, he said that sacrifices to Saetha were supposed to allow the worshipper to journey to the gods and if found worthy, they would be given the knowledge of transmutation and long life." 

 

"So the worshippers were human? Why by fire, why not just use a knife through the heart?" 

 

Just then the phone rang. Willow was going to let the answering service get it but Anya reached for it. 

 

"Hello... Hey Giles. I didn't tell Willow much since I knew you were going to call." Anya handed the phone to Willow and teleported out. 

 

"Hey. I was just asking Anya why the sacrifices were by fire and not knife." 

 

"The use of fire was to cleanse the sacrifice of impurities before the soul went into the afterlife. I also found out that this ceremony was believed to be the origin of the Phoenix myth. Three days after the sacrificial fire ceremony the worshipper returns from the ashes with the knowledge given by Saetha."

 

"How many sacrifices are needed for the journey?" Willow asked fearing more visions with innocents dying by fire were to come. 

 

"Three, One for each day before resurrection. The sacrifices were supposedly done over a month. From one full moon to the next." Shit, Willow thought, that doesn't give me much time to find the third victim. 

 

"Is there a reason the killers here targeted women with dark hair?" 

 

"I don't believe so. I couldn't find anything except that the worship of Saetha took place in ancient Babylonia and the Babylonians were dark skinned and probably had dark hair." 

 

"If the symbol is called a fire circle why wasn't there a circle on it?" 

 

"I think it was called a fire circle because it represented the journey and return by using fire. What looked like a snake was really a spiral. The spiral symbol represents journey and on going knowledge. The stick represented the stake that the sacrifices were tied to." 

 

Willow told Giles what had taken place at the cemetery with Anita. "Do you know anything about glowing eyes in regard to Saetha?" 

 

"Not that I know of but I'll look into it further." 

 

"Thanks Giles. This has helped a lot." 

 

Time to talk to Jean-Claude. Willow thought she would try to catch him at Guilty Pleasures tonight. If he was there great she would ask for his help, if not she would make an appointment and then see if she could find anything of interest there on her own.


	7. part 7

Willow entered Guilty Pleasures soon after it opened to the public. She looked around hoping to see the man that had escorted her to the meeting the other day. She spotted him over in a corner and approached. "Hi, I'd like to talk to Jean-Claude, is he around?" 

 

A voice over her shoulder said, "Why do you need to see Jean-Claude?" 

 

She turned to the voice and saw Asher. She hadn't even heard him approach, must be a vampire thing. She smiled. "I have a favor to ask." 

 

Asher just lifted an eyebrow in response. "Jean-Claude has business with the Council tonight. Can I be of service?" 

 

A lot of things came to Willow's mind with Asher's question and she blushed. "Can we talk somewhere a bit more private?" 

 

Asher had deliberately made his question suggestive to see her reaction and thought the blush made Willow even more attractive. He turned and indicated for her to follow him. He took her upstairs to the offices that Jean-Claude kept at the club. 

 

After they were settled Asher asked, "What kind of favor do you need?" 

 

Willow had been expecting to ask Jean-Claude for the favor. Since they didn't have a lot of time to search for the killers she had decided not to wait. She still didn't know what the Asher vision had been about but Giles had found some information regarding Asher in the Watcher diaries and what he told her confirmed her feeling that Asher wasn't involved. She already had eliminated Jean-Claude as a suspect. She decided to tell Asher everything including her vision and watch his reaction to the vision. Willow was very good at reading people. She might not be able to read auras like Tammy could but she could read body language. 

 

Willow told Asher what the first victim Cindy Jefferson had said and about the symbol and the ceremony for the god Saetha. She told him about the second victim that had been found early that morning and her suspicions about Guilty Pleasures. 

 

"So I would like to sorta go undercover here to see if I can find any information. Or at the very least see if I can spot the woman that was in my third vision. I was hoping Jean-Claude would let me work here." 

 

Asher had been thoughtful while Willow brought him up to date. He was relieved that the killers were human and not vampires. He knew those that have the ability to Enthrall also have the ability to transmute so there would have been no need to get that information from an ancient god. 

 

"Before I make my decision I have a question." 

"Sure." 

Looking directly at Willow he said, "What is it that you aren't saying?" 

 

Biting her lip, she looked down at the floor and then back up at Asher. 

 

"Something happened to me at our last meeting that had never happened before. When I shook your hand I received an impression. It wasn't like anything I had had before. Normally, in my visions I see through the eyes of the victim or in the case of these recent ones I'm seeing through the eyes of the killer. When I held your hand I saw images from what I am guessing was your past. The images blended into each other and not really making sense. I saw you, Jean-Claude and a dark haired woman laughing, then you were tied up with a priest nearby and the last one was of the same dark haired lady being burned at the stake." Willow watched Asher's reaction to the vision. The only time he flinched was when she mentioned the dark haired woman dying. 

 

Many things were running through Asher's mind while Willow was talking about her vision. Most of all he wondered why the Powers gave her images from his worst nightmare. "So you suspected me and didn't want to say anything?" 

 

Willow blushed and said, "Yes I did. Until I knew what the vision meant and how the women had died I didn't eliminate anyone as a suspect expect Jean-Claude." 

 

Wanting to know the truth Asher asked, "You don't suspect me now?" 

 

"No, but to be honest I checked up on you and until I got that information back and I found out about Saetha I still kept you in the back of my mind as a suspect." 

 

He respected her honesty. He was beginning to really like Willow. He had appreciated her beauty when he had first seen her. Now he was starting to appreciate her other facets that she was allowing him to see. He would respond with the same honesty. 

 

"What you saw was from my past. I had a human servant her name was Julianna. That was the dark haired woman you saw. Julianna had been taken because the church thought she was a witch and they burned her at the stake. I couldn't help her because I was tied up and the priests thought they could burn the demon out of me by dousing me with holy water. Jean-Claude was able to rescue me but we weren't in time to save Julianna." 

 

"I am so sorry. This must be very hard for you hearing about these victims. Would you rather I not talk to you anymore about this case?" 

 

"No, it just brings up some memories for me." 

 

"I know what you mean. When I was 17 the town where I grew up was under the influence of a demon that wanted to get rid of witches and the occult. So the people of the town organized a group and gathered up people with preternatural abilities and I was one of them. The group, including my mother took us to be burned at the stake as witches. If friends hadn't been able to reveal the demon and then kill it I would have died by fire. Every time I see a vision in this case it brings back my fear of a fiery death." 

 

Asher was stunned. How could she still work this case? 

 

Willow laughed. "It's not like I can turn off my visions. Besides, if I can save one innocent from dying that way then I am happy." 

 

Asher hadn't realized he had asked the question out loud. "Let's go downstairs and I'll introduce you to Jack. You can start work tomorrow night. Tonight just hang out as a customer and see if you can see anything." 

 

Willow smiled gratefully. She really didn't want to start working tonight. She wanted to think about all that Asher had said and what she felt. 

 

Asher decided he would watch over Willow while she was here. He found her fascinating and after finding out that she had nearly been burned at the stake like Julianna he wasn't going to let her get hurt if he could help it. 

 

Willow and Asher returned to the club. Walking behind Asher, Willow kept scanning the crowd hoping to see a woman with dark hair and a scar above her left eyebrow. It was still too early for the club to be really crowded so it wasn't hard to watch people. She also watched some of the workers hoping the Powers would put a huge neon sign pointing at the person that said, "This is the one." Willow knew she couldn't get that lucky. Maybe she would have Tammy come with her tomorrow night and see if she could read auras on the workers. With the club full of vampires and lycanthropes besides the humans that were there she knew Tammy couldn't just do a reading for a dark aura. Too many would have that type of aura. 

 

Asher stopped at the bar and introduced Willow to the man standing near it. 

 

"Jack, this is Willow. She's going to be replacing Nancy. I told her she could start tomorrow night but I thought you might show her around a little and introduce her to some of the people she'll be working with." 

 

"Willow, this is our floor manager Jack." 

 

With the introductions made Asher left. He didn't want Willow to appear more than a new employee. It wouldn't raise too many eyebrows that Asher had hired Willow without talking to Jack. He had done it before. He would leave it up to Willow how she wanted to cover for herself. 

 

Willow smiled and shook Jack's hand. "It's nice to meet you." Jack was tall, almost a foot taller than Willow. He had long black hair almost to his waist with dark eyes. He was very handsome. Willow wondered if that was a criteria for working there. So far all she had seen were very attractive people. 

 

"Your first two nights I'll have you follow along with Sue one of our other drink servers. How long have you been serving drinks?" 

 

Willow knew staying as close to the truth as possible helped while lying. "I'm kinda new at this. I haven't been doing this for very long." 

 

"That's okay. We get a lot of turnover so we don't have a lot of people with experience anyway. I'm sure you'll do fine." He wondered why Asher would hire her since she didn't have a lot of experience, he was the one that usually did that. 

 

Willow returned to the club after taking her new uniform out to her car. She found a table near the back so she would have a good view of everybody. She watched and waited for the show to start both on stage and off.


	8. part 8

Willow was in hell. She was sure that serving drinks to loud and horny women had to be a level in Dante's hell. She had been working at Guilty Pleasures for four days and she now had more admiration for the waitresses and the dancers. So far no dark haired woman with a scar, no one standing out among her fellow co-workers as suspicious and Tammy didn't find any auras that caused her inner "Spidey Sense" to go off. It was less than a couple of weeks until the next full moon and Willow was determined that she would not let another innocent die by fire. 

 

She couldn't figure out how the killers knew about Saetha or about the ceremony. Giles, the Watchers Council and all of her contacts hadn't known what the symbol meant. It took a demon thousands of years old to know about it. 

 

Willow looked over in the corner and saw Asher. She smiled at him when she caught his eye. While she was working and serving drinks, he would watch from the other side of the club. Willow thought it was nice of him to help her search for the third victim. He would cover the area that she couldn't. Of course it also gave her an excuse to keep him in the corner of her eye the whole time. They had been meeting in the back when she took her break and they would talk. 

Asher was aware the employees thought that he and Willow were having an affair. The fact that he was the one to hire her with no experience, he was also spending a lot of time on the floor which was rare and that every time she took a break he went to the back to be with her. He found it amusing and wondered how he could use it to his advantage to get closer to her. For the first time in a very long time he was beginning to feel something deeper for someone. 

 

Willow took the drink order from the table and made her way to the bar. While she waited for the drink orders, she glanced around the club hoping to see something. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a man enter the club through the back and nod at someone. He had on a white uniform and Willow wondered who he was. 

 

"Here, take this back to your table and then go ahead and take a break." 

 

Finally, Willow thought, her feet were killing her. She was also looking forward to her talks with Asher. She was pleasantly surprised when he started spending time with her during her breaks. They would talk about what they noticed in the club but what she really looked forward to were the times they talked about themselves. Willow was starting to really care about Asher. If she were honest with herself she had found him intriguing since they first met. 

 

As she made her way back to the employee section of the club she noticed the man in the white uniform again. He was walking towards the back of the building and Willow decided to follow him to see what he did. 

 

Willow saw him go out the back door and into the alley behind the club. He approached a van with a logo that said "Goldman Supplies" that was parked nearby. Willow figured he was just here to drop off or pick up the supplies so she walked back to the employee's lounge. 

 

"Where were you, chere?" 

 

"I saw someone who I didn't recognize from the club in the back and decided to follow them to see what they did." 

 

"Are you crazy?! You could have gotten hurt. Why didn't you wait for me?" 

 

Willow rolled her eyes. "I grew up on a Hellmouth where the demons tried to end the world or kill me on a regular basis. I think I can handle a man in a white uniform." 

 

"Is that so, little girl?" Faster than the human eye could see, Asher grabbed Willow. He pulled her back to him and trapped her arms between them. "And if he grabbed you like this, ma petite, how would you have escaped?" 

 

Willow enjoyed the feeling of being in his arms just for a minute and then used his strength against him with a abdominal thrust. "Like that", she said when Asher released her. 

 

"Ok, you made your point that you can take care of yourself. But be careful. Not everyone is what they seem to be. He could have been a shifter or a vampire that would think you were a tasty treat." 

 

"I know and I was careful. He was just bringing supplies anyway." Willow wanted to change the subject. "You said you would tell me about human servants and the marks that the vampire gives?" 

 

Asher smiled not being fooled at all but wasn't going to press the matter. "Only a master vampire can have a human servant. Generally a human servant is just that, a servant. He or she is compelled to do the bidding of the vampire. In some cases, like Anita, the servant has the ability to keep their free will. In Anita's case with Jean-Claude it is because she is a necromancer. In Julianna's case, it was because of how I felt about her that I allowed her to keep her free will." He paused and then continued, "Do you know that the employees are taking bets as to how long it will be before I take you as my servant?" 

 

Willow just blinked her eyes at him and said the first thing that came to mind, "Huh?" 

 

Asher laughed at Willow's expression. "That's not a very flattering response, ma petite." 

 

Willow blushed a deep red. "No... No, I am very flattered that they think you would want me to be your servant. I just don't know why they would think that." 

 

"Why? You are beautiful, intelligent, funny and compassionate. Why wouldn't I want to make you my servant?" 

 

"That's so sweet, thanks. But, that's not what I meant. What I meant was, that I haven't been here for very long. Why would they think our relationship was that far along?" 

 

"Ah, because I was the one that hired you even though you didn't have experience and when you take your breaks I always meet you back here. Also, I am not discouraging the gossip about us. I thought it might add to your cover." 

 

Willow thought about that for a minute. It probably wouldn't hurt for the others to think that she and Asher were together. She might be able to get more information that way. Even though she had made friends with some of the people here she really didn't have a lot of time to build a rapport with many people. Plus, there might be Asher smoochies in her future, which is a good thing. 

 

Willow stood up to go back to work and Asher followed her. "You wouldn't mind being involved with me? I... I mean, that the people here think you are involved with me?" 

 

Asher smiled and looked over at Willow. When they returned to the club, he stopped and pulled her closer and looked down into her eyes. He leaned down slowly to give her time to back away. Willow didn't back away instead she raised her hand to lightly caress his scarred cheek. Asher closed his eyes and leaned his head into her soft touch. He opened his eyes and watched as Willow lifted her face closer for the kiss. 

 

Time seemed to stand still for Willow while they kissed. The noise of the club became a slight buzz in the background and her brain shut down. When Asher ended the kiss, Willow had a dazed look on her face. He turned his head to whisper in her ear, "Non, ma petite, I don't mind that we're involved." 

 

Sue saw Willow just standing looking into space when Asher left her. With a laugh she came up beside her. "Earth to Willow." 

 

"Huh?" 

 

"I'm sure that I'd have that same glazed look in my eye if Asher kissed me as well but table number two needs drinks." She said with a smirk. 

 

"Yeah, uh huh. Getting drinks." Willow was still distracted but she managed to wander to table two.


	9. part 9

That night Willow dreamt of Asher. Of course it couldn't have been the good erotic kind of dreams. No, these were more like memories of Asher's life. Willow didn't recognize any of the scenes that flashed through her mind. Asher had been very descriptive in his tales about his past and she would have recognized those. Why were the Powers sending her visions about Asher's past life? Or was this a vampire thing? Was Asher sending her these images and she could only get them while asleep? She'd have to ask Giles about this, there had to be a reason why she was getting these images. 

 

The next morning she brought Giles up to date with what was happening at Guilty Pleasures and then told him about the visions that she had been getting regarding Asher. 

 

"Do you know what could be causing these visions?" 

 

"It could be the geisa bond. In very rare instances there have been cases of psychics who develop a deep bond with someone. But usually that person is very close to the pyschic and has an intimate relationship with them." 

 

"So these images that I'm seeing is the result of a bond I'm developing with Asher? How can that happen? These images started when I shook his hand. That's hardly intimate. Yeah, we kissed but that's all." 

 

"Maybe you both subconsciously had a strong reaction to the other and the closer you become the more images you receive. Also, the fact that he's a vampire might be a reason why the bond is reacting differently. In all the recorded cases the people involved had been human. You probably received your first vision because that was the most traumatic memory he had and it is very close to the surface." 

"What happens with a bond?" 

 

"Well, one of the effects is that you get his memories and he receives yours. Do you know if he has been seeing anything?" 

 

"He hasn't said anything yet but I'll ask him. I'm meeting him later tonight." 

Oh yeah, I'll just casually ask so...Asher, been dreaming about me lately? That'll work, Willow thought. 

 

"You said one of the effects, what are the others?" Willow wanted to be prepared for what might happen. 

 

"Well, of course there are different effects for different people, but one of the effects is also a connection of the mind." 

 

"Oh my god, he'll be able to read my mind?!?" Willow almost hyperventilated. No way did she want Asher to know what she was thinking. 

 

"No, just a link like a tingling in the back of your mind knowing that someone is there. But you might experience each other's emotions." 

 

"You mean like the bond that I have with Angel?" 

 

"In a way, but with the case of Angel it is only extreme emotions that you share. With this bond, all the emotions are involved. Happy, sad, anger, whatever." Shit... I hope lust isn't one of them, Willow thought while suppressing a hysterical giggle. 

 

"Will I be able to put up a block like I do with Angel?" Willow prayed Giles would say yes. 

 

"I'm not sure. This is uncharted territory since I haven't heard of a case involving a vampire. I don't know if your block would work. When a vampire marks a human he can visit them in their dreams so I am not sure if a psychic block would work on a bond with a vampire. You and Angel have one type of bond but this type of bond is much more intense and much more intimate." 

 

"Thanks for all your help, Giles." 

 

"I'm glad you called actually. There has been a rumor going around the demon communities about the ceremony of Saetha. I didn't want to say anything earlier until I received confirmation. I finally received a phone call this morning from my contact at the Watchers Council and they've confirmed it. It seems an ancient text was unearthed at an archaeological dig in Turkey. The rumor was that the scrolls told about an ancient sect of Saetha and the tanio gant ceremony. What was left didn't describe the ceremony or the symbol it just mentioned that the sect performed this ceremony. Andrew, my friend in the Council, said that there are missing pieces from the scrolls. The Council is looking into the people that were at the site. Workers, archaeologists, guides any one who might have had access. This find was kept a secret, which is unusual in academic circles. I am under the impression that the dig was privately funded and not an academic grant. I thought you would want to know. It's not conclusive but at least it is a place to look." 

 

"Great, Giles. That helps a lot. I have some friends that owe me a favor hopefully they'll be able to find something." 

 

Willow hung up with Giles and thought about who to contact. She decided on Sinjin since there wasn't a lot of time left. Willow sent a coded email to Sinjin and waited for his response. He usually called on her cell and he always insisted that she use her scrambler. The FBI was looking for Sinjin because of his hacking activities and he knew how easy it was to listen in on cell phone conversations. 

 

Willow's cell rang twice and then quit. After turning on the scrambler she returned Sinjin's call. 

 

"Hey Red. So you want to finally collect on the favor? I wondered when you were ever going to get around to that." 

 

"Yeah, normally I'd still leave you hanging waiting for the other shoe to drop but I'm working on a case that has me stumped." 

 

"I didn't think I'd live to see the day that there was something that you couldn't figure out." 

 

Willow stuck out her tongue at the phone. "I didn't say that I couldn't figure it out eventually just that I'm temporarily in need of help." 

 

"Yeah, yeah. Whatcha need?" 

 

"I need you to use your magic touch and see if you can find out who funded a dig in Turkey where ancient scrolls were recently unearthed." 

 

"That wouldn't be the Saetha scrolls would it?" 

 

"You've heard of them?" 

 

"Yeah, a few fakes have already made it to the Black Market. Word is that there are other scrolls that are going to be up for sale but to private collectors only. Very exclusive. Somebody wants a lot of cash." 

 

Willow wondered why sell the other scrolls for cash, if the ceremony really worked the killers would be able to turn anything into gold or gems. Maybe they were hedging their bets in case Saetha wasn't listening or didn't exist anymore. Maybe the killers took the part that described the ceremony without the knowledge of the others at the dig and the scrolls that were left at the dig weren't that important but would fetch a lot of money in the world of private collecting. 

 

"So do you think you'll be able to find out who is behind the dig?" 

 

"Sure, but it'll take time and resources. If they are good, which I'm sure they are, they'd have hid any trace of their identity through a lot of channels. I'll send you a message as soon as I find anything." 

 

"Thanks you're the best." 

 

"That's what they tell me." 

 

Willow smiled. "If you can find the person behind the dig your debt is canceled." 

 

No little one, Sinjin thought his debt to Willow would never be cancelled. He could still remember the overwhelming relief he felt a couple of years ago when Willow had found his wife, who had been kidnapped and buried alive in the desert. He had told her then that anytime she needed him to just call. Even though he teased her, he was glad she finally took him up on his offer. "I'll call you as soon as I can." 

 

After Willow hung up with Sinjin she decided to spend the day shopping. 

Asher had asked her to go to a place called 'Circus of the Damned' tonight and she didn't have any going out clothes.


	10. part 10

Hearing Asher's knock, Willow took one final look in the mirror. With a mental shrug she opened the door. Seeing Asher's reaction to her outfit she was glad that she had spent the extra money on it. 

 

"Chere, you look beautiful." 

 

Her top was a dark green silk with a spider web back that looked like it covered until she moved and Asher would get glimpses of her pale back. Willow's skirt was long but the slits on either side went to mid-thigh allowing her easy movement. When Willow saw the outfit she thought it was beautiful and functional, which is always a good combination. If she needed to fight she would be able to. Just because a Master Vampire that was second in command in the city was accompanying her, didn't mean she shouldn't be prepared for anything. 

 

Every time Willow went to the District she was pleasantly surprised. She wasn't sure what she was expecting when she heard about it but this wasn't it. It looked like a renovated old part of town in anywhere USA. The District was along the Mississippi River with cobblestone streets and nightlife for all tastes. The District looked like any part of a city that was trying to revitalize its old section to draw tourists. It wasn't until you looked closer that you noticed that vampires and were-animals ate, danced and had a great time along with the humans that came down to the area for excitement. 

 

She and Asher approached the entrance to Circus where a large crowd was gathering. They bypassed the crowd by entering through the side entrance reserved for employees and others. Willow's first look at the ring where the shows were to take place left her dumbfounded. All that came to mind as she took in the sights was that it looked like what PT Barnum would have done if he had been a vampire. There were vampire carnies hawking people to play their games for just a few dollars. There were shifters changing from human to leopard, wolves, tigers, and all sorts of animals, pleasing the crowd. Just watching the customers and the workers was a show unto itself. Willow couldn't wait to see what the performances inside the ring were like. 

 

Asher guided her to Jean-Claude's private section. As they approached, he saw Jean-Claude and Anita were already there. Jean-Claude began to stand when he caught sight of Asher and Willow. He reached for Willow's hand and raised it to his lips. 

 

"You look beautiful, Chere." 

 

Willow blushed, she wasn't used to so many complements. "Thanks." 

 

He turned to Anita to introduce Willow but Anita beat him to it. 

 

"Hey, Willow. It's nice to see you again." 

 

"Hi." Seeing the confusion on the vampires' faces she explained, "Anita was the one that raised the first victim for Dolph and me." 

 

They settled down into their seats and waited for the show to begin. 

 

The lights dimmed and the voice announced the first performer, which was an illusionist. A lone man walked into the ring dressed like Hollywood's version of a wizard. He wore a black robe and had a walking stick that glowed at one end. If he had long white hair Willow would have thought that Gandalf entered the ring. Willow had been waiting for a David Copperfield-like performance not a wizard-like performance. He raised his arms and out of nowhere fog filled the ring. It wasn't a wispy fog like what might have come from a hidden fog machine this was real, thick fog. He allowed the fog to spread to the first four rows. As it drifted past Willow, she could feel the cold and dampness that accompanied the fog. As Willow looked back to the ring she saw that there were twin points of light. As the fog dissipated a Gryphon stood in the center of the ring. She was surprised to see that it appeared to be life size. It was the size of a lion and the wings were spread wide. It was a magnificent creature and the crowd went wild. The 'wizard' approached the Gryphon and ran his hands over the wings and around its head to show that it was solid. 

 

Willow was impressed with the level of magick that had been used to create that. She was surprised that she didn't feel the energy tendrils that this amount of magick required. Every time magick of this caliber was borrowed from the Earth's energy, those that were sensitive could feel the tendrils. He was probably putting up some kind of block so he wouldn't bother those in the audience that could feel tendrils, she thought. 

 

The next performers were gargoyles that performed aerial acrobatics and feats of strength. Willow had always believed that Gargoyles were just really cool waterspouts on castles and cathedrals. She had no idea that they were real beings. Asher explained that they were the third race. The first race was fairy realm, the second race was the demon realm, the third race was gargoyles and the fourth race was humans. There weren't that many gargoyles left but they were located all over the world. Willow didn't believe him when he said that the Aztec winged serpent, Quetzalcoatal was really a gargoyle. She'd have to ask Giles about that one. 

 

As she thought about Giles, she wondered how she could subtly bring up the subject of shared memories and maybe the geisa bond? 

 

Asher noticed that Willow looked like she was deep in thought. She seemed to be enjoying herself while watching the performances. He hoped she wasn't thinking about her case. He wanted this night to be a night off for her. He decided to leave here and maybe wander to the other areas of the District. 

 

Willow felt Asher's hand on her arm as he tried to get her attention. She turned and smiled at him. He leaned over and whispered, "Ready to go somewhere else?" 

She nodded her head and they stood to leave. After saying their goodbyes to Jean-Claude and Anita, Asher guided Willow through the crowd with his hand on the small of her back. As they reached the outside, Asher slid his hand from her back to her waist and kept it there. 

 

They made their way closer to the river and away from the crowds. Willow noticed a bench under some trees and thought that it looked like a good place to have their conversation. She had agonized long enough about what to say and she decided enough thinking, she would just ask him. 

 

She leaned closer to Asher and asked, "Can we go to that bench over there? I have something I need to talk to you about." 

 

Asher noticed that Willow looked serious and wondered what it could be. "Sure." 

 

After they sat, Willow gathered her thoughts. "Asher, last night I received more images from what I think is your past. I called my friend Giles and asked him about what might be happening." 

 

Asher was concerned for her, "Is everything alright?" 

 

Willow smiled a little smile. "Yeah. I was just worried because this had never happened before and I couldn't figure out why this was happening now. Giles thinks it might be a geisa bond. Have you heard of this?" 

 

"No. I have heard of many bonds involving vampires but I haven't heard of that one." 

 

Willow described what Giles told her about the sharing of memories. "Have you experienced anything like I'm describing?" 

 

"Vampires don't really dream. When we "sleep", it is to rejuvenate the physical body. This evening before I fed, I did see images of you. I just thought it was me wondering what you were like and the stories that you told me about your past. Sort of like a daydream or would that be nightdream for me?" Asher asked with a smile. "Is this bond something to worry about if it does exist?" 

 

"Well, that's something of uncharted territory. It seems that it hasn't happened before between a witch with psychic abilities and a vampire." She took a deep breath and continued, "Another aspect of the bond is that we might experience feeling each other's emotions." 

 

Asher raised an eyebrow at that. "Let's see." He pulled Willow closer for a soft kiss. Neither was prepared for the explosion of heat that happened.


	11. part 11

The heat that was generated from the kiss surprised Willow. She made a low sound deep in her throat and arched against him. Asher's tongue teased the seam of her lips seeking entrance, which Willow granted eagerly. After nicking her tongue on Asher's fangs twice she made a mental note to ask Buffy how she did this without nicking her tongue. Willow knew she needed to take a breath soon. Real soon. But she didn't want to ever stop kissing Asher. 

 

Willow reluctantly pulled away and drew a ragged breath. Asher leaned his forehead against the top of her head trying to will his body not to grab Willow and throw her over his shoulder and head for the nearest room, if he could make it that far. 

 

Willow was suddenly overwhelmed with a variety of feelings. She recognized that some of the feelings were hers but not all. As Willow's heartbeat began to slow from intense to rapid, she heard Asher make a small sound. She tilted her head back to look at him and he seemed to be lost in his own thoughts. 

 

Asher blinked his eyes and few times trying to focus. He was a little confused with what he had just seen and wanted to ask Willow about it. "I thought I just saw two younger versions of you. One of the versions was a vampire but she had the features of those from Angelus' clan. Was I seeing a memory of yours?" 

Willow looked sheepishly at Asher, "Yeah, for a little while there were two of me in this reality. It happened when I was in high school. The vampire version of me that you saw was from an alternate reality that accidentally came to my reality. I guess that answers the question about sharing memories. Are you okay with the idea that there is a bond between us? I can try to find a way around the bond, maybe a block or something." 

 

"I don't want a block between us, chere. When I heard the others at Guilty Pleasures speculating on whether or not I would take you as my human servant, I realized that I enjoyed the idea of our being bonded. I like the idea that we may be able to spend centuries discovering things about each other. I was waiting until much later before I brought up the subject with you, though. How do you feel about this?" 

 

Before Willow could answer they heard a disturbance behind them. They both turned to see what had caused the interruption. They saw that a crowd was beginning to gather near the entrance of Danse Macabre. Willow grabbed Asher's hand as she stood, she wanted to see what was going on. 

 

As they approached the dance club, she noticed that there seemed to be a debate going on with the crowd outside the club. There was a group of people that carried anti-vampire signs and wore shirts that said Humans Against Vampires. The group had decided they would get more publicity for their cause if they staged a demonstration outside the popular dance club. 

 

Willow asked Asher, "Who are Humans Against Vampires?" 

 

"They're a hate group that's trying to take away the rights of vampires. They try to gain support by staging rallies like these all over. If they can't get support then they at least hope to get publicity for their cause. For the most part they're harmless and we ignore them. The ones you need to watch out for are the groups like Humans First. They want to get rid of vampires, were-animals, shifters, anyone with preternatural abilities and those that support us by any means necessary." 

 

"You mean they'll murder innocents and blame it on vampires or others just to get rid of those they fear?" 

 

"That's just one way that they're willing to use to further their cause." 

 

Willow just shook her head and marveled that in this day and age that that degree of prejudice still exists. Willow noticed a man in a HAV shirt looking over at her and Asher. The man narrowed his eyes at her and Willow could tell he was getting ready to say something. She narrowed her eyes right back at him and prepared to do verbal battle. 

 

Asher suddenly felt a wave of anger. When he felt Willow's back stiffen under his hand he realized it was coming from her through their bond. He followed her line of vision to see what had caused such anger and saw a HAV member make his way towards them. Wanting the evening to end on a positive note and hoping to avoid confrontation that would probably ruin the evening's mood, he gently turned Willow away. 

 

The HAV member watched the blonde vampire leave with the pretty red haired human and knew his opportunity had been lost. He had thought it would have been great publicity if the cameras had caught a confrontation between him and that woman that was so obviously involved with the vampire. Oh well maybe another time, he thought and returned his attention back to the others in the crowd. 

 

Willow and Asher walked along the sidewalks enjoying each other's company and watching the crowd. As they walked back by the Circus of the Damned, Willow noticed the man that had been the first performer of the evening. 

 

He had stopped by the entrance to wait for a group of people on the sidewalk to walk by so he could continue past. When Willow was close enough that he would hear her she said, "Hi, I just wanted to tell you that I really enjoyed your performance tonight. Did you use a block for those sensitive to the magick tendrils? I didn't even feel you drawing on the Earth's energy to perform." 

 

He smiled at her and replied, "Thank you. I'm glad that you enjoyed my performance tonight. To answer your question, I didn't use magick. Since I dress as a wizard for effect in my act a lot of people assume that I'm a warlock and use magic to create my illusions. If they don't believe that I'm using magick then they think that it's mass hypnosis. It's actually neither. I have the ability to create illusions that appear and feel real. It's something I have always been able to do." 

 

Willow was intrigued by this and thought that when she had time she would look into it. Maybe it was something like lying on a bed of nails. It was probably a case of mind over matter. 

 

As Asher escorted Willow back to her hotel room he said, "You know, you never did answer my question earlier about your feelings regarding the bond. How do you feel about it?" 

 

Willow smiled, closed her eyes and concentrated. Asher was filled with feelings of happiness and little bit of concern. Willow opened her eyes and looked up at Asher. "Did it work? Did you feel my happiness?" 

 

"I did and a little more. What is it that has you concerned?" 

 

"I'm just a little worried about the consequences that our bond will have on you. Since it has never happened with a vampire before and we don't know what to expect. I don't want to cause you harm even if I don't mean to." 

 

"Don't worry, little one. Maybe it will be all positive affects. You'll be able to share not only my memories but also my abilities. Not just my strength but all my abilities, like flight." 

 

"Wow, you mean like superman? Or like Dracula, I'll turn into a bat and fly away?" Willow teased. 

 

Asher rolled his eyes. "Do you believe everything you see in the movies? Besides that would be more like a shapeshifter than a vampire. Some of the clans do have the ability of transmutation but we can't change ourselves, only things." 

 

That caught Willow's attention. She started thinking out loud to walk through her thoughts. "So, if your clan has the transmutation ability and the ability to Enthrall, that probably means they wouldn't be involved in the killings. And that means that the killers are more than likely human. But why, what is the motive behind all of a sudden learning about Saetha and performing the ceremony?" 

 

Asher could see that Willow was distracted by the case. With a smile he leaned in and kissed her good night. "I'll leave you to your case." 

 

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get distracted. Sometimes I get lost in my thoughts. You can stay, if you want." 

 

"I'm very tempted but you need your rest and I should be getting back. It's late for you." 

 

After Asher left she saw that she had a message from Tammy. They had the name of the second victim and they wanted her to come to RPIT tomorrow to see if she could get an impression from both victims' personal belongings.


	12. part 12

Willow entered the RPIT squad room and watched the beehive like activity that always went on in police stations. She made her way around the desks and detectives until she came to Tammy's desk. 

 

Tammy was on the phone but smiled and motioned for Willow to have a seat. While Willow waited she let her eyes wander around the room. She noticed there was a man sitting at the desk she had seen the first time she came here. It said Zerbrowski but because of the penguins she had assumed Detective Zerbrowski was a female. 

 

Zerbrowski caught Willow looking at him and his penguins. He smirked and winked. Willow blushed and glanced back at Tammy. Tammy had hung up the phone and was watching the exchange between Zerbrowski and Willow with a smile. 

 

"Come on, Dolph is waiting for us in the other room with the victims' things." 

 

"Tammy, I just gotta ask. What is it with the penguins?" 

 

Tammy laughed, "Ever since Zerbrowski found out that Anita collects penguins he leaves one for her everywhere. A while ago he gave us each one to put on our desks so when Anita came in there were penguins everywhere." 

 

Willow thought it sounded like something Xander would do and smiled at a memory of a stuffed frog. 

 

They entered an interrogation room and Willow saw Dolph sitting at the table. She noticed a watch and a necklace lying on the table next to him. After they took their seats Willow asked, "Were the victims wearing these the night of the murder? If not, I won't be able to help. I'll just see scenes from their life not their death." 

 

"Yeah, they are. Tammy said that you would need them from the night of the murder. They were found at the scene." 

 

Willow took a deep breath to calm herself and prepare for visions of death. Not that you could ever prepare yourself but it was a calming technique that she always used. 

 

She picked up both objects and held them cradled in her hands. The lights of the room began to fade and abruptly Willow was someplace else. 

 

She felt a painful tightness around her wrists and ankles. She struggled to see but it was too dark to see anything. Suddenly her blindfold was torn off and she could make out shapes but not faces. The fact that she couldn't see anything caused her terror to soar. For an instant Willow was caught in the victims' emotions. She felt sheer terror and the cold certainty that they were going to die. She heard chanting in the background and Willow began to relax and the pain began to recede. She noticed warmth on her arm and looked down to see the symbol appear magically on her upper arm. It glowed a bright red while it was appearing and when it cooled down it was black. A second voice started talking and Willow turned her head towards the sound. Twin points of light were staring at her through the fog of her mind. She couldn't make out the color other than light. The man's features were blurred but she could tell he had dark hair. There was a crackling sound behind her and she turned. Oh God, No... please not fire. 

 

As the flames got closer, Willow tried to will herself out of the body. But she wasn't quite quick enough to save herself completely. As she felt the flames lick at her legs everything went black. 

 

Tammy and Dolph both leapt out of their chairs as soon as Willow's face turned pale and she hit the floor. Dolph checked her pulse and breathed a sigh of relief when he felt it. "She's got a pulse but it's very rapid, should I call someone?" 

 

"No, I think she didn't bring herself out in time. This happens sometimes but usually not with someone of Willow's talents. Let me see if I can reach her. If not, then you can call someone." 

 

Tammy closed her eyes, reached for Willow's hand and concentrated. Normally you can't make a connection of the mind unless there was a bond. Tammy hoped the bond of friendship was enough along with her own magical abilities. 

 

Willow was floating in a peaceful darkness when she thought she heard someone calling her name in the distance. Go away, she thought and tried to get further away from the noise. 

 

Oh no you don't Willow, Tammy stubbornly thought. Tammy kept talking trying to get Willow to return. 

 

Willow couldn't resist the sound of the voice, it was becoming irritating and as she drifted closer she recognized it as Tammy's. Suddenly the memories of what had just occurred returned and Willow slowly opened her eyes. 

 

With a small smile Willow greeted Dolph and Tammy. "Hey guys, sorry about that. I couldn't break away before the flames started." 

 

Dolph and Tammy both looked at her with concern on their faces. "We were worried about you", Tammy said. "You gave us quite a scare when you abruptly stiffened and fell to the floor." 

 

Willow rose and sat back in the chair trying to get her breathing back to normal and her heart to stop racing. Dolph had gone to get something for her to drink. She turned to Tammy, "Sorry about that. I thought I had prepared myself for the fire but I guess not." 

 

"Oh, Willow. I'm so sorry. I totally forgot about your fear of that. Are you ok?" 

 

"I will be as soon as my heart calms down. Maybe a few hours of yoga will work." She said with a smile. 

 

Dolph returned to the room with her drink. "Any chance that it's Irish coffee with a little bit of whiskey in it? 

 

Dolph smiled, glad to see that color was beginning to come back to Willow's cheeks. "Yeah, as a matter of fact I stole some out of Zerbrowski's desk that he thinks I don't know about." 

 

Willow took the coffee and sipped. She raised her eyebrow at Dolph realizing he wasn't kidding about the whiskey. He just winked at her. 

 

"I guess you're wondering what I saw. It really wasn't that much different from what Cindy described about that night. I can tell you that the symbol appeared magically on their arm after the first man chanted. They were already tied to the stake by the time they woke up and they were blindfolded. When the second man started talking that was when they calmed down and began to feel no pain." 

 

"So was it a vampire using Enthrall to get them to calm down?" 

 

Willow looked at Dolph. She detected something subtle in his question, was it hope that the killer was a vampire? 

 

"No, the vampires that have that ability also have the ability of transmutation, so they wouldn't have anything to do with this ceremony. He was human but he might be a warlock since magic was used. He had dark hair and light eyes from what I could make out. Cindy was right about his eyes glowing. Now whether they really glowed or he made them appear to glow is the question. I never did see the first one that was chanting. He was always behind me and my vision was kind of cloudy." 

 

"Would you be able to recognize the one you saw?" 

 

"Not really, his features were blurred. But from where he was standing I would say he was a little over six feet, dark hair and light eyes. I know it's not much of a description but it's better than nothing." 

 

"So have you had any luck with your time at Guilty Pleasures?" 

 

Willow filled them in on the nothingness that was happening there. Hopefully the woman with the scar would show up. 

 

"Do you think we should put a sketch out to the media of her to say we are looking for her in connection with a case? Maybe someone will recognize her." 

 

"I would really rather not. If the killers were watching her before taking her and they see that, they might decide not to take her. I know that sounds cruel but at least now we know who their third victim is going to be. If they change their minds we would have to hope that the Powers send me another vision in time to save the new third victim." 

 

Dolph agreed and they left the room. As they walked Willow back out Tammy said, "Thanks for all your help, Willow. We'll look into what you told us and hopefully we'll find something."


	13. part 13

Willow returned to her hotel room and looked for her special yoga CD. She always took it with her when working a case because the music was very calming and she needed that now. After changing clothes and starting the CD, she began her routine. When Willow felt she was relaxed enough that she could quit, she took a hot shower and relaxed her muscles from the workout. 

 

Feeling much better, she powered up her laptop and hoped that there was a message from Sinjin waiting for her. She checked her email account that they had agreed on earlier and didn't see any messages. She thought while she was on the Net anyway she would do some surfing. 

 

Thinking about what Sinjin had said earlier about the fakes turning up on the black market and the originals going to private collectors only, she checked chat rooms and boards for any messages or discussions about the scrolls. 

There seemed to be a discussion on a Turkish antiquity board but since Willow didn't know how to read the language she could only catch words like Saetha and tanio. She copied the text into her translation program and selected Turkish to English and waited for the program to translate the words. She remembered the first time she had tried the program and the results. The program didn't take into account grammar usage just word for word translations. Sometimes she got a good laugh at what the program put on the screen. 

 

The program completed the process and Willow read the results. A trader in ancient script was putting a scroll up for sale in Cairo. It was to be invitation only. They were debating back and forth whether it was genuine or not. The trader insisted that he found it in a dig that he was working on in Turkey. From the description it sounded like it belonged with the other scrolls that Giles told her about. It seems that more and more were turning up but they were all private auctions and none going to museums. Someone was trying to get a lot of money. 

 

Willow continued surfing the Web, this time for discussions about mythological societies and sects. She found a board that was having a discussion about an ancient society that supposedly was able to make illusions real. 

 

This tugged at Willow's memory, but she just couldn't place it. Then she remembered that the Illusionist at Circus of the Damned said that he didn't use magick to create his illusions. That he always had the ability to create illusions that appeared to be real. Now she wondered if one of the killers had that ability as well and he created the illusion of eyes glowing. She remembered from the act that the Gryphon's eyes appeared to glow through the fog. 

 

She went back to searching the Net to see if she could find any information about this ability. She came across a page that talked about tapping into your inner stillness. At first she thought it was just new age wannabe crap but as she began to read, it sounded more like what she was looking for. 

 

There were supposedly steps to follow and if you followed these steps, you would be able to "envision it and make it real." Instead of mind over matter it was mind shifting matter. After reaching your "inner stillness" you were to be able to take the matter that was there and shift it to your will. Make a flower out of air. The molecules were there you just shifted them around to your purpose. 

There was a beep on her computer that told her that new mail had arrived. She saw that she had a message from Sinjin, or rather Cody Bryant. That was one of many alias email accounts that Sinjin used. 

 

Sinjin had attached a C source file with a note that said here was his part of the homework assignment that they had worked on. 

 

Willow downloaded the file and ran the source file through the program. It executed into a text file. 

 

Hey Red, 

 

Your money man is smart but I'm smarter. I was finally able to find him. The common denominator was a number. It kept appearing in different places under different guises. When I finally noticed that number was everywhere I looked into it. It turns out it's a social security number. Drum roll . . . Seems that it belongs to Robert Drummand. Who's that you ask? Good question, I never heard of him either. But I looked into his records and it turns out he is with a group called Humans Against Vampires. I'm sending you a picture from another email account so you can see what he looks like and if he's familiar to you. 

 

They financed the dig on a rumor that there would be scrolls that would tell them how to get rid of all vampires once and for all. When that didn't happen they decided to sell the scrolls to the highest bidder and raise money instead. That is why the scrolls are being sold at private auctions, more money to be had there. 

 

Cody 

 

Willow thought about what she just read, trying to figure out how that connected with the killers. She heard another beep and saw she had a new message. It was a link to Picture Trail to see Uncle Robert's picture. Holding her breath and hoping he had dark hair and light eyes she clicked on the link. 

 

It was an older man with white hair. Damn, another dead end. 

 

Running through everything in her mind, Willow tried to make sense of it. It was sort of frightening that this may have all started as a fluke. They were expecting to find something but stumbled onto something else. The killers probably saw value in the part of the scrolls that they discovered. Once they realized what they had, were they trying to perform the ceremony to see if it really worked? If HAV was involved, what was the reason? 

 

Willow turned off her computer and got ready for another night at Guilty Pleasures. She hoped that tonight was the night she would see the woman. So far nothing had been happening at Guilty Pleasures. Sure it had brought her closer to Asher, which was a good thing. But in regard to the case nothing was happening. 

 

Willow went to park her car in her regular spot but the Goldman's Supply van was blocking her. Now she would have to park in the front, she hated parking in the front. Willow saw that there was a crowd gathering to get in. As she got closer she noticed a group of women off to the side. They were laughing and seemed to be celebrating something. As Willow walked by them she overheard them talking about a bachelorette party. She hoped they weren't at her tables. 

 

When Willow entered the club she saw Asher standing off in the shadows. She smiled when she felt happiness with a subtle bit of lust mixed in through the bond. She was liking this bond thing. 

 

Asher followed behind Willow as she went to the back. When he entered the employee lounge moved behind her and slipped his arms around Willow's waist. Willow closed her eyes and leaned back into his embrace. "I could tell you needed this, wanna talk?" 

 

"Hmmm, thanks. It was a tough day. I'll tell you at my break. I went to the station this morning and did a reading. Just brought up memories of the fire." 

 

Asher tightened his embrace hoping to offer more comfort. She enjoyed the feeling of being in his arms for a little bit, then slowly stepped away. "I noticed the big crowd tonight." 

 

"Yeah, there are few groups celebrating tonight." 

 

"Yippee, that means dead feet by end of shift." 

 

"I'll offer my services as a masseuse when your shift is over." 

 

"Deal!" Willow reached up for a quick kiss, which turned into a longer kiss. 

She opened her eyes and smiled. "Now this is the way to start a shift. See you later." 

 

Willow walked into the club and groaned. The group that she had passed earlier was at her tables. Oh well, she would just keep the image of Asher massaging her feet firmly fixed in her mind and she could get through this. 

 

With a smile plastered on her face, she grabbed her pad and began to take orders. When she turned to take the last person's order she gasped and dropped her pen. 

 

It was the woman from her vision.


	14. part 14

Willow was shocked. All this time looking for her, always hoping to find her and then BAM there she was. Now, she didn't know what to do. Should she warn her or just keep a careful eye on her? 

 

Blushing, she picked up the pen, "I'm sorry, what did you want to drink?" 

 

The woman smiled at Willow, "Seven and Seven, please." 

 

Willow turned and took the orders to the bar. 

 

Asher felt Willow's shock through the bond and quickly scanned the crowd for her. He saw her at a table with a large group of women. He couldn't see anything that would cause such a reaction in Willow but he followed her to the bar anyway. 

 

"What's wrong, I felt your shock." 

 

"I saw the woman from my vision. She's over there at the large table. She's the one with the long dark hair with her back to us." 

 

Asher looked over and saw her. "Are you going to say anything?" 

 

"I don't know, I think I'll just keep a close watch on her. Would you keep watch of the crowd to see if anyone keeps looking at her? I don't even know if tonight's the night. Maybe she's just here to celebrate and will come back another night. I don't want to mess this up. God, I couldn't live with myself if after all this something still happened to her." 

 

Asher took Willow into a comforting hug and placed a small kiss on the top of her head. "Don't worry, ma petite. With you and me watching over her she'll be fine." I hope Asher added mentally. 

 

The night was turning into an uneventful one. Willow had kept watch on the group of women but didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. She was afraid that it was a false alarm. That maybe tonight wasn't the night. But at least she got her name. She overheard the others calling her Judy. Now she just needed a last name to go with that. 

 

Willow approached Judy with a smile on her face. "I'm sorry if I keep staring at you, but you look like a girl I went to college with. Your name wouldn't be Judy Williams would it?" 

 

Judy smiled and shook her head. "Sorry, not Williams but Judy Stevens." 

 

Willow smiled, "Sorry about that, you look so much like her you could be sisters." 

 

Inside Willow was dancing, YEAH, UH HUH, I'M GOOD. At least she got the full name. So now if nothing happened tonight she would call in every favor owed to her and find out anything and everything about Judy Stevens. 

 

Sue came by to tell Willow it was time for her break. She looked around the club for Asher and spotted him on the other side. Tonight she wouldn't take her break in the back like she normally did. She was determined to keep an eye out for Judy. 

 

Willow wrapped her arms around Asher, "Hey." 

 

He returned the embrace. They stood with their arms around each other watching the crowd. Willow told him that she learned Judy's name and he told her that he hadn't noticed anyone watching her suspiciously. 

 

Willow looked over and saw the deliveryman come in the doorway and look around. He nodded to someone and went back through the door. Willow looked up at Asher, "The delivery guy from Goldman's came in and nodded to someone. Is that some signal that it's time for deliveries?" 

 

"He's probably just letting Jack know that he's done and he can go lock the back door." 

 

Willow went back to watching the crowd. She saw Jack return from the back. He went to the bar and grabbed a tray of drinks. Sue was very busy and Willow figured since she was on break he was helping out.

 

She reluctantly pulled out of Asher's embrace. "If Jack is delivering drinks, we're too busy for me to just watch the crowd. I'll go back to work." 

 

"I'll keep watching, chere. I'll let you know the minute I see anything suspicious." 

 

Willow passed Jack on her way back. "If it's so busy that you're even working the floor tonight, I'll relieve Sue from my tables." 

 

Jack smiled his thanks. 

 

Willow made the rounds through her tables taking drink orders. She was approaching her large group and she noticed that Judy was getting ready to leave. 

 

"Calling it an early night?" 

 

"Yeah, all of a sudden I started feeling sleepy. I'm gonna call it a night, but the others are staying. I don't want to spoil the fun." 

 

Willow watched her make her way to the door. After she had started Willow turned to follow her. She didn't want to be too close and scare her into thinking she was a stalker. But there was no way she was letting Judy go into the parking lot by herself. 

 

Willow watched Judy go out the door and waited a minute before following. There was still a crowd waiting to get in. God, Willow thought, why did tonight have to be so crowded. She felt a hand on her shoulder and jumped. She had been concentrating so hard on following Judy that she didn't hear Asher come up behind her. 

"I think I lost her in the crowd. I don't see her anymore." 

 

"Let's just make our way to the parking lot, she couldn't have gotten that far ahead of you." 

 

Willow and Asher scanned the parking lot looking for her. Willow told Asher to go right and she'd go left. Asher agreed but only because Willow had 'Resolve Face' on and he knew he could feel her through the bond. Even so, he kept her within sight. He would rather loose Judy than Willow. 

 

Willow caught a blur out the corner of her eye. She turned and saw two men come up behind Judy. She started running toward her and yelling her name. 

 

Judy's head snapped up with the sound of someone frantically calling her name. She saw a petite red head running towards her, she thought it looked like the girl that served the drinks. Just then, she felt a hit on the back of her head. 

Willow saw the taller of the two lift a stick and hit her from behind. Willow didn't even think, all her training with Buffy kicked in and she went into fighting stance. 

 

With a sidekick to the stomach on one attacker and a roundhouse kick to the head of the other they dropped Judy. She turned to the taller of the two and was shocked. "YOU!" 

 

She never felt the other one come up behind her until she was hit from behind. Her world went black. 

 

This all happened so fast that Asher wasn't able to reach her in time. When he saw Willow get hit and go down he screamed, "WILLOW!" 

 

The two men turned and saw one very pissed off vampire flying their way. Instead of doing the intelligent thing and leaving her, the taller one grabbed Willow and threw her in the back of the Goldman's delivery van. 

 

"What the hell did you do that for? Now he'll never stop until he finds her."

 

Jack turned to his friend and said, "How fitting that our last sacrifice to Saetha will be a witch and a vampire's whore at that. I can't wait to see his face while he watches his whore die by fire."


	15. part 15

Asher couldn't believe it when he saw Jack throw Willow into the back of the delivery van. He felt a hand on his arm and turned with fangs bared. 

 

Tammy instinctively took a step back. She didn't think Asher would harm her but in his state she wasn't sure. She spoke softly calmly like you would to an angry animal. "I followed you when I heard you yell Willow's name. I'll call 911." 

 

Asher grabbed Tammy by the arm and glared at her. "Do you know where they're taking her?" 

 

"The other two murders were held in an abandoned warehouse that Humans Against Vampires own. We've been staking it out but tonight it was called off because it was costing too much to keep watch. I'm guessing they are taking her there." 

Asher got directions from Tammy and went to his car. He didn't slow down when she called, "We'll get them, I won't let anything happen to Willow." 

 

All Asher kept hearing in his mind was Julianna's screams. He wouldn't live if he couldn't get to Willow in time. He knew that there was no way he could live through that horror again. If the fire took Willow, he would join her on the funeral pyre. 

 

Willow slowly opened her eyes. She couldn't move her arms and that's when the memories came back. She looked around and saw Jack only he had shorter hair. Then she noticed the other man. It was the deliveryman that she had noticed before. Damn, why couldn't the Powers have sent me a vision so I would have known it was them. This nightmare could have been over last week if they had. What a time for the Powers to change their MO and give me visions from the POV of the killer, she thought. 

 

"Well, looks like the witch is finally awake." Jack said. 

 

"Why are you doing this?" 

 

"When my father's dig in Turkey found the scrolls he was disappointed that it wasn't the ones he was looking for. It wasn't until he sent me a sample that I realized what he had. I didn't care about the other ones but the one he sent me described a ceremony that intrigued me. If it worked I would have the ability to live long and change everything I touched to gold." 

 

Willow rolled her eyes, "So this is about greed?" 

 

"No, witch", he spat, "It's about beating the monsters at their own game." 

 

"If you hate them so much why do you want to be like them?" 

 

"THEM? I don't want to be like them, you included. It's so I can hunt them down for eternity and never have to worry about money like my father does. His organization always has to raise money and lobby so they don't step on any toes." 

 

"So you're not above using magick for your own purpose, or asking the help of an ancient god. What about him?" Willow pointed with her chin to the other man. 

 

"That's Frank. He has a very special ability. We met at a Humans First meeting and I saw his work. He volunteered his ability to advance our cause. He was born with the ability to create realistic illusions. But that's all they are just illusions, when he stops concentrating they go away. That's one of the reasons to try this ceremony because when he turns things into gold they don't last." 

 

"If you hate the 'monsters' so much why work at Guilty Pleasures?" 

 

"That was the perfect cover. Who would suspect an employee at a club owned by a vampire was a member of Humans First and son of a leader of Humans Against Vampires. But to be safe I wore a longhaired wig so no one would recognize me. Enough talk." Jack turned and stood behind Willow. He raised his arms and began chanting. 

 

Willow felt a burning sensation on her arm and looked down. The symbol was beginning to appear. She felt terror begin to overwhelm her. 

 

Asher felt terror flood his senses. He stepped on the gas pedal and took the turn screeching. He pulled up in front of the abandoned building and flew to the door. Of course it was locked. He looked in the window over the door and saw Willow tied to the stake with a man that looked like Jack but in shorter hair standing a little behind her with raised arms. He closed his eyes and concentrated as hard as he could and prayed that the bond would create a psychic link. 

 

Willow, please hang on. I'm here love. I won't let anything happen to you. Tammy saw you in the parking lot and called 911. They'll be here soon. Just hang on. 

Willow felt a tingling in her mind. She feared her brain was beginning to shut down. Then she thought she heard a faint voice. Her eyes popped open and she frantically searched as much as she could. She couldn't see anything. She closed her eyes and concentrated. 

 

Asher felt Willow's fear but he also felt relief. He started to feel a niggling in the back of his mind and concentrated. 

 

God, I'm so glad this bond is working. It's Jack and the deliveryman Frank. They both are part of Humans First. 

 

He could hear the sirens in the distance but he didn't think they would get there in time. Asher growled low deep in his throat and went to the roof to come in through the skylight. 

 

Frank leaned down and lit the trail of gasoline. They hadn't bothered with the calming of the victim. It was better that the witch suffers. 

 

Willow heard the crackling of the fire behind her and she strangely felt herself begin to calm. She knew that she was going to die a fiery death like she had always feared. It felt like she had come full circle from her time with MOO. Maybe this is what the Powers were doing when they sent her these visions. Time to fulfill her destiny. She felt a wall of heat just as she heard Asher crash through the skylight. 

 

"Willow!" She heard the shout as she began to black out. 

 

Asher didn't pay any attention to Jack and the other man. He only had eyes for Willow. He flew to her side and ripped the ropes from her arms and legs. He carried her away from the fire all the time murmuring in her ear. He thanked anyone that would listen that he had been in time to save Willow. 

 

He gently laid her down and turned to look for the men that had taken her. He saw them through the smoke and lunged. He grabbed both of them and knocked their heads together knocking them out. He was going to feed when he decided a more fitting death. 

 

He took them closer to the fire and tied them up to the stake. He grabbed a stick and caught it on fire and walked to the far wall and set it on fire. There was a wall of heat behind Asher and he knew that the fire was catching hold. He had to get Willow out. 

 

He left the door still locked and took Willow with him out of the skylight. By the time the cops and firefighters arrived the building was too far gone to save. 

 

Asher held a shaking Willow in his arms. They were sitting in the parking lot when Tammy and Dolph approached them. 

 

"I take it that the killers are still inside." 

 

"Yeah, I only had time to get Willow out before the building went up in flames." 

 

Asher could tell that Dolph didn't believe him but he wasn't going to press. 

 

"We'll need to get a statement but tomorrow will be soon enough." Dolph turned around and went to speak to the fire inspector. 

 

Tammy leaned down and put her head next to Willow's. "That's twice you gave me a scare today. Don't let it become a habit." 

 

Willow smiled and sat up but stayed in Asher's arms. Suddenly there was a loud ringing next to Willow. She turned and saw a big bell ringing. The next instant Anya was there. 

 

With a smirk she said, "Since you didn't hear the little bell I sent the first time I thought I would send a bigger one this time." 

 

Willow laughed, she wasn't sure if it was hysteria or not. She introduced Anya to Asher and Tammy. "Why are you here?" 

 

"Angel felt your terror and got frantic when he couldn't reach you. So I said I would teleport to you make sure you're all right. And seeing that you're sitting with that hottie's arms around you I'm guessing everything is okay now." 

 

Willow leaned into Asher's embrace and looked up at him. "Yep, everything is okay now." 

 

Anya and Tammy could see that Asher and Willow were lost in their own world and quietly left. 

 

"I thought I had lost you, mon coeur." 

 

"I know. I thought you had lost me, too. I had been cursing the Powers that gave me this vision because I thought they were showing me that my destiny *was* to die in a fire." 

 

"I think, ma petite, that they gave you these visions to bring you to me so I could finally save my love from a fiery death." 

 

"LOVE?" 

 

Asher smiled, "Yes, my love." 

 

Willow reached up and kissed Asher, "I feel like celebrating that we didn't lose each other." 

 

Asher stood and took Willow's hand.


	16. part 16

Willow pinned Asher's body to the wall of the elevator. She didn't know if it was the near death experience or the bond but her senses were heightened. She couldn't get enough of his kisses, his touch or the way that their bodies perfectly fit. 

 

Asher ran his hands up and down Willow's back. His hands cupped her and brought her up against his erection. Willow moaned into his mouth and arched closer. She barely heard the ping of the elevator door opening. She dragged her mouth away from Asher and took his hand. 

 

They barely made it into Willow's hotel room before Asher slammed the door and had Willow backed up against it. He wanted to slow down, he didn't want their first time together to be frenzied but if Willow didn't stop doing that with her hands he wouldn't stop. Willow must have read his mind, "Next time we'll go slow and explore. Now, I just want to feel." 

 

Asher was lost. He picked Willow up and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He walked until he felt the mattress against his knees and he gently laid her on it. 

 

Willow watched as he stepped back and began to unbutton his shirt. She reached up a hand to stop him, "Let me." She stood up and walked to him. She gently kissed the skin that she exposed as her fingers undid the buttons. She paid equal attention to the scarred side as she did to the other side. Asher's head fell back and he let her gentle ministration heal the scars both seen and unseen. 

 

He dug his fingers into her hair as she explored his chest and stomach. She loved the feel of him and didn't think she would ever get tired of exploring him or hearing his moans. He gently pulled her away and began unbuttoning her shirt. "My turn." 

 

His hands gently caressed her soft skin as he placed small kisses along her collarbone. The feel of his hands on her skin had Willow whimpering. His cool touch felt soothing next to her hot skin. He removed her shirt and looked at her. "You're beautiful." He bent his head and placed a soft kiss in the center of her chest, right were her heart was pounding. She dug her fingers into his hair and arched into his touch. He unclasped her bra and smiled. He stepped back and quickly removed his pants as she watched through hooded eyes. 

 

"God, you're beautiful." To her he was Asher. The scars made him who he was and she wouldn't change a thing about him. 

 

Asher saw the truth in her eyes and for the first time in a long time he forgot his scars and saw himself through her eyes. 

 

She reached down and removed her skirt. They both stood, drinking in the site of the other. Asher scooped her up and laid her in the center of the bed. He gently lay on top of her. As he looked down into Willow's eyes, his hair fell on either side of her face. 

 

Willow looked up into Asher's eyes; his hair had created a curtain that shut out the world. She felt like they were the only two that existed. She smiled and reached up to kiss him. 

 

Asher moaned into her mouth, if he wasn't in her soon he would explode. Her hands explored his back and she arched up into him with a small sigh. She opened her eyes and said, "Please." 

 

~~~~~~ 

 

Willow felt a cool body against her back and an arm around her waist. She gently turned over and saw Asher quietly watching her. She smiled and snuggled deeper into his arms. 

 

Asher was watching her with serious eyes. She felt his concern and didn't know why. "What's wrong?" 

 

His arms tightened slightly around her. Sometimes he cursed this bond. "I was just wondering how soon you had to go back since the case is over with." 

She watched him and chose her words carefully. "I don't have to go back for a few days." As a consultant she could pretty much live anywhere but this relationship was too new for her to feel confident enough to tell him that. 

 

Asher didn't respond he just thought over her words. Was it too soon to ask her to stay? He needed to get back before the sun rose but he didn't want to leave her like this. "Would you consider coming back...to visit after you took care of things at home?" 

 

Willow's face lit up. "I think that can be arranged." She slid her leg between Asher's. 

 

"I have to leave soon... before the sun... well maybe in a little while." Asher rolled on top of Willow as she laughed. 

 

~~~~~~ 

 

Dolph's phone call interrupted Willow's thoughts. They needed her to come down to the station and make a statement about last night. 

 

She arrived at the station and made her way to Dolph's office. Knocking on the door she waited for his response. 

 

"Enter." 

 

Willow entered his office and took a seat. 

 

"You're looking better this morning. Is everything all right?" 

 

"Yeah thanks. I'm okay." 

 

"Can you tell me what happened last night?" 

 

Willow told him everything that had happened. From seeing the girl in Guilty Pleasures to following her into the parking lot and the fight. She told him of the conversation that she had with Jack and that the last thing that she remembered before waking up in the parking lot was Asher calling her name after he came in through the skylight. She couldn't tell him what happened to Jack and Frank. She had her suspicions as she was sure Dolph did but she honestly couldn't tell him that she knew anything. 

 

Dolph watched her give her side of what happened. He already had Tammy's record of what happened last night and it seemed to corroborate. He didn't see any trace that Willow was hiding anything to protect her lover. He didn't think she honestly knew what Asher had done to Frank and Jack. He wasn't sure if she did, if she would say anything. Not really to protect Asher but because it was a fitting death to the both of them. That's one of the reasons he wasn't going to press Asher for details. 

 

He had talked to his superiors earlier in the day about Willow. Having her work with RPIT would be a big coup in establishing the squad as more than misfits. He hoped she would take him up on what he was about to offer. "Willow, I have been mulling over this idea since I heard you talk in DC. I know that you work free lance but would you consider helping us on cases on a more permanent basis?" 

 

Willow was surprised. "Are you offering me a job?" 

 

"If you want it." 

 

"My consulting work has priority. When I get a vision that will take me away from the work here I will go." She watched his reaction. 

 

"Deal." 

 

"I won't be able to start for a few weeks. I'll need to settle things back in Eureka." 

 

"I'm just glad you're considering my offer. Take all the time that you need." 

Willow rose and shook Dolph's hand. "You have a new witch on the payroll." 

 

~~~~~~~ 

 

A month later.... 

 

Asher kissed Willow goodbye as she left their apartment. This was her first night working with RPIT. 

 

She opened the door to the squad room and thought this was home away from home. She took a deep breath and made her way to her desk. When she got close enough to see her desk she started laughing. In the center of her desk was a giant stuffed frog. 

 

She turned to Zerbrowski with a smile and gave him the finger. She was one of them now. 

 

~*~The End~*~


End file.
